Renewable energy report ‘too optimistic’

Energy analyst Tony Wood says the Climate Commission has presented “renewable energy in a more positive light than was reasonable”.
AFR

by
Claire Stewart

A Climate Commission report into renewable energy ignores critical issues affecting the viability of the industry and paints an unrealistic picture of its role in Australia’s energy mix, an industry expert says.

Grattan Institute energy program director Tony Wood said there was nothing wrong with being aspirational and optimistic about renewable energy, but he questioned whether it is the role of the Climate Commission, led by
Tim Flannery
, to issue a call to arms to the sector.

Instead, the commission should take a clear view of what was needed to reduce carbon emissions, and be “technology agnostic".

“I had said to the [commission] that I thought they were presenting renewable energy in a more positive light than was reasonable," Dr Wood said yesterday.

“It’s what they don’t say. If you seriously want to bring emissions down, there are more cost-effective ways of doing it than renewable energy."

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“I understand it was a task to write a report on renewables, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea," he said. “I think it should have been a report on low emissions technologies more generally and you can canvas all options.

“This report implies you can do it all with renewable energy and that renewables are already affordable.

“But it’s only affordable in some very particular circumstances where the cost of the alternative is very expensive."